Three formative short stories by one of the most significant American writers of the twentieth century.
A cocktail party conversation is most revealing in what is left unsaid. Tensions between a brother and sister escalate to violent threats. A soldier heading off to war is torn between duty to his country and to his family.
These stories, first published in magazines in the 1940s and long out of print, showcase the formidable talent that would blossom in The Catcher in the Rye. They are accompanied by special new illustrations by Anna Rose Yoken.
The first book by J. D. Salinger to be published in fifty years, Three Early Stories is a crucial addition to the shelves of Salinger fans and newcomers to his work alike.
an essential acquisition for Salinger fans.
Three Early Stories is a slim volume containing three short stories by reclusive American author, J.D.Salinger, and is the first book by this author to be published in fifty years. Each of the stories in this collection has been previously published in magazines (Story and University of Kansas City Review), some years before his controversial bestseller The Catcher in the Rye was first published
The Young Folks features a conversation between a b**chy woman and a rather distracted man at a cocktail party. It has the distinction of being the first story Salinger ever had published (at the age of twenty-one) and contains gems like “They arose simultaneously. Edna was taller than Jameson and Jameson was shorter than Edna”
Go See Eddie features an animated conversation between a brother and sister in which the brother is critical of his sister’s adulterous relationship and insists she take a job he has lined up for her. Once A Week Won’t Kill You features conversations between a young man going to war and his wife, and later with a beloved aunt. Of the three stories, this is definitely the most polished, no doubt due to its later publication date.
The first two stories have a decidedly unfinished feel, as if they are an extract from a longer work; the third story, less so, but it would also benefit from an expansion that is, now, of course impossible. Nonetheless, all three stories have his distinctive style, and this book will be an essential acquisition for Salinger fans.
Marianne, 19/11/2014
